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A6 Kendal - Penrith 26 miles

Snick first at the lights on Sandes Avenue in Kendal, coming from the South you would be turning right here, I however just go straight on. Its here your heart starts racing, what follows is 26 miles of sheer brilliance..........
Your heading for the hills.......

Adhere to the 30 and 40 limits on the transit road North, camera van often parks in th Rugby club, you will know you approaching as there is a large school and playing field on your right, stick to the next 40 limit because just before it finishes a hidden layby exits, guess who sits in there on a Sunday !!

Ok, quick check, no plod, then my friends the party starts, top gear arrives fairly quickly, whoa, that right hander was tighter than I thought, seeping into an uphill left with overtaking lane, don't leave it to late though as you need to lay it on its ear into the left and flick back right, then left, then right, then left, are you getting the picture !

It when you start rising North of Selside about 7 miles in from Kendal that the scenery starts getting good and the road starts getting faster.

Obviously common sense should always apply, there are alot of locals around that I know regularly bait other riders as sport, you come up on lorries and tourists very quickly, its almost an optical illusion sometimes because of the nature of the terrain.

Hitting the summit, wow, it has been know to lift the front over here, careful though as laybys exist both sides !

Decending the summit the corners can be deceptive, especially the first right, bit off camber you know !

Follow it through the 'twistyish' 3 carrigeway (crawler lane Southbound) bit, watch out for the manhole cover on your line, tbh its never given me any grief, just in the head !

Respect the 30 and 40 Zones through Shap village and then head out for the second section, Shap Village to Penrith, also note there is a public lav in the centre of the village on your right hand side. Should you wish !

Great road continues North of the Village but you do encounter some speed limits through the villages no, please respect them, although this road is not heavily Policed, it is Policed though, so be aware !

At the end of this section you 'pop' out at the roundabout with the A66, just pop across that roundabout and pick up the A686, look out for a report on that road by Mike.

The surface has suffered somewhat this winter and of course the gas men never do us bikers any favours, on the top wooded ( Shap) section, heading south though there is alot of overbanding 'on line' go easy.

yes, stunning road, it will be the opening leg of the Dalesman's Dash. Just watch for bizzies! I don't usually stop for photos, it looks nice! Once did it four times, up, down, up, down and back to Hawes for a rest!

Yup the A6 Shap run is a top road. My fav' bit is north up out of Kendal to Shap especially the long sweeper past the old clock position down in to the dip with the farm on the left and up hill through the right hander. You literally get pushed down on to the tank in the dip. Fantasic!

Other things to watch for are changes in weather. Come out of Kendal in sunshine and you can be in 10/10th fog and wet before you get to what is now the caravan sales pitch on the left half way up going north (another good corner BTW).
Also watch for water running off the rock faces across the road after it's rained and then dried out on the road; the fields haven't.
It's got some history behind it as well because, before the M6 was opened this was literally the only way by road to get to Penrith and north on the west coast. Stop at the summit where the telecom mast is (lay-by both sides) and by the eastern lay-by there is a commenorative stone. Have a read.

Its a great road in reverse too - plus you can pick your way through Kendal and then down to Sedbergh and pick up the back road in to Kirkby Lonsdale and stop for a coffee and a bacon sandwich at Devils Bridge - just watch out for plod round there though!!

A6 Road itself is lovely

The continuation of the A6 from Penrith up to Carlisle is great too - not as twisty or scenic as the southern section but very quick in places - and there is a storming very very very very fast right hander at the end of a long straight with a perfect camber going straight in to a climb up a hill, about 3 miles before Golden Fleece Services.

I never forget the first run of the year to Devils Bridge one year (Cold Sunny January Day), came along Shep Wells straight and through the twisty bit at the end, came to the long sweeping right hander and half way round it turned from dry roads to snow

Luckly I was second and saw the break lights come on but my mates feet were down and the bike was all over the place He did well and stayed to stay on the bike.